'That's it? That's the story?'

'That's all of it that I know, but I'm not right sure what else there could be. That was pretty much the end for Laffa, I'd say.'

'Thanks for the encouragement.'

'That's alright, that's alright! I've more stories, if you need more!'

'No, no, that's enough for me.' Logen turned and started walking off, the Dogman beside him. 'You can tell me more once we've won!'

'Ha ha, Bloody-Nine!' shouted Crummock after him, 'that'll be a story in itself, eh? You can't fool me! You're like I am, beloved of the moon! We fight hardest when our backs are to the mountains and there's no way out! Tell me it ain't so! We love it when we got no choices!'

'Oh aye,' Logen muttered to himself as he stalked off towards the gate. 'There's nothing better than no choices.'

Dogman stood at the foot o' the wall, staring up at it, and wondering what to do to give him and the rest a better chance at living out the week.

'It'd be a good thing to get all this creeper and grass cleared off it,' he said. 'Makes it a damn sight easier to climb.'

Tul raised an eyebrow. 'You sure it ain't all that plant that's holding it together?'

Grim tugged at a vine and a shower of dried-out mortar came with it.

'Might be you're right.' Dogman sighed. 'Cut off what we can, then, eh? Some work at the top would be time well spent and all. Be nice to have a decent stack o' stones to hide behind when Bethod starts shooting arrows at us.'

'That it would,' said Tul. 'And we could dig us a ditch down here in front, plant some stakes round the bottom, make it harder for 'era to get up close.'

'Then close that gate, nail it shut, and wedge a load of rocks in behind it.'

'We'll have trouble getting out,' said Tul.

Logen snorted. 'Us getting out won't be the pressing problem, I'm thinking.'

'You've a point right there,' laughed Crummock, ambling up with a lit pipe in his fat fist. 'It's Bethod's boys getting in that we should worry on.'

'Getting these walls patched up would be a good start at settling my mind.' Dogman pointed at the trees grown up over the wall. 'We need to get these cut down and cut up, carve us out some stone, mix us some mortar and all the rest. Crummock, you got people can do that? You got tools?'

He puffed at his pipe, frowning at Dogman all the long while, then blew brown smoke. 'I might have, but I won't take my orders from such as you, Dogman. The moon knows my talents, and they're for murder, not mortaring.' Grim rolled his eyes.

'Who will you take orders from?' asked Logen.

'I'll take 'em from you, Bloody-Nine, and from no other! The moon loves you, and I love the moon, and you're the man for—'